Opinion: There are times when you wonder why the White Ferns cricket team gets so much coverage.
The White Ferns have been habitual losers in Twenty20 and one-day international matches for years, Hamish Bidwell writes. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Prior to beating England in a 50-over match earlier this week, they had lost 16 of their 17 previous matches in that format.
With the best will in the world, those are not the results of an elite or high-performance sports team.
It's not just an unfortunate run, either. The White Ferns have been habitual losers in Twenty20 and one-day international matches for years.
But not only are their efforts dutifully reported on, they're rarely (if ever) accompanied by any criticism.
Problem is, though, that if you want to cover female sports teams from this country, then you're not exactly spoilt for choice.
The mental health of athletes - particularly female ones - has become a hot topic. Well, do you know what's really injurious to the mental health of an athlete? Never actually playing or competing.
Imagine being a New Zealand Warriors' NRLW player, or a Tall Fern or a Black Stick or a Black Fern. Heck, even the Silver Ferns are flat out getting a game these days.
Yes, our national netball team are playing England at the moment, ahead of a series against New Zealand's men's team. Awesome.
Covid-19 has changed the complexion of world sport but, if it weren't for this year's Olympic Games, few of these teams would ever take the court or park.
The Black Ferns 15-a-side team haven't played a test for two years while, Olympics aside, our Black Ferns Sevens have had precious little to train for either. They've nothing on the schedule for 2022 and yet there's a strong argument to be made that they are our flagship sporting team.
An independent panel has been assembled to look into the culture of cycling. We all know what's prompted that investigation, but I don't want to continue to publicise one family's tragedy.
What I have said all along, though, is that no amount of reports or recommendations will make a blind bit of difference to what's happened here or improve things for current and future cyclists. Administrators simply don't have the stomach for change or a desire to accept blame.
Some teams without fixtures for months, even years
But, if nothing else, let's at least start by affording female athletes the respect of scheduling them some fixtures.
How is it that the White Ferns can be on the road on a consistent basis while our rugby and hockey and basketball and netball and basketball players go months or years at a time between games?
How is that the Warriors can play in the NRL or the All Blacks can be on a road trip that's taking in Australia, the United States, Wales, Italy, Ireland and France while the Black Ferns Sevens side sits idle?
How can we, in good conscience, laud their Olympic feats and wax lyrical about how Snoop Dog and whoever else is a fan of the side, while also confining the team to mothballs?
The Black Ferns Sevens side at their gold medal presentation at the Tokyo Olympics. Photo: Steve McArthur/Photosport Ltd 2021
Even niche teams such as the New Zealand Breakers and Wellington Phoenix have seasons that are about to start and yet we can't get a game for the Black Sticks?
How is it that the England netball team are here or that various international men's cricket teams are on their way and that the women's 50-over Cricket World Cup is about to be played in New Zealand and yet other codes can't get themselves organised?
It's tempting to say how it's funny that male sport tends to continue regardless, or at least that strenuous attempts are made to ensure that it does. But when it comes to female teams, somehow it's all too difficult. Only it's not funny at all.
As I've said many times, this wouldn't matter if codes and broadcasters and written media didn't spend so much time pretending they cared about female sport. If they ignored it or said it wasn't second or third-rate, then fine.
But when you cloak yourself in the success of a female team or athlete and you seek to leverage off their deeds, then you damn well ought to organise them a game or two.
Black Ferns stars Michaela Blyde, Ruby Tui and Tyla Nathan-Wong. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
You want to look after the mental wellbeing of female athletes? Well, treat them with a bit of respect, treat them as you would a male sports team, treat them like they matter.
The White Ferns are exceedingly lucky. Lucky to be playing so much and lucky that no-one scrutinises their failures.
Would Gary Stead keep his job if the Black Caps lost 16 of 17 matches? What about All Blacks coach Ian Foster?
Frankly, most people don't even know that Bob Carter is at the coaching helm of that White Ferns side.
But that's an aside. The issue here is that while the schedules for female teams remain expendable or irrelevant, then female athletes will feel expendable or irrelevant.
We don't need a taskforce or an independent panel to fix that, just a few fixtures for athletes to look forward to.
